Mozzarella Stuffed Sweet Potato Gnocchi
These beautiful orange gnocchi explode with mozzarella when you bite into them, that’s because the sweet potato gnocchi are stuffed with mozzarella! This is the perfect fall and winter dish! The gnocchi are tossed in a mixture of mushrooms, kale, and lots of butter! The earthy mushrooms and kale balance the sweet gnocchi so well! Getting a little char on the kale and mushrooms adds a really nice bitter flavor.
Where the idea for this recipe came from
You know I love stuffing things – I wrote a whole book about it! Stuffed gnocchi has been on my list for a long time, but it took forever for me to finally get around to making it. My original idea was regular potato gnocchi, but once I thought of using sweet potatoes I got really excited and everything about this mozzarella stuffed gnocchi dish clicked into place. I made it right away! I added mushrooms and kale because they are my fave veggies and they balance the sweetness of the potatoes. After that, all this really needed was plenty of butter to be a delicious winter supper.
Start by making the gnocchi
Roast the sweet potatoes, then peel them and cut them up. Add to a bowl with flour and egg
When I make gnocchi with potatoes I use a potato ricer to break up the potatoes. This ensures there will not be potato chunks, and also prevents overmixing, which can cause the dough to get gummy. With sweet potatoes, this isnt really an issue because they break up easier and aren’t nearly as starchy. Basically what I am saying is you can toss the potato chunks right into the flour and mash it all up together.
Flatten the gnocchi dough and stuff the mini mozzarella in the center, then roll the dough around the cheese. Make sure to seal them up good! If you are having trouble sealing them, use a little water on your fingertip as glue and it should help! Look at all these cute little mozzarella stuffed gnocchi!
Making the sauce
This “sauce” comes together quick. Cook some butter, mushrooms, and kale in a large pan on high heat. I cut the kale very small here because I wanted it to act more like an herb in this dish.
Cook the mozzarella stuffed gnocchi until they start to float but get them out of the water asap if you see any of the mozzarella start leaking out.
As you can see below, the mushrooms and kale have gotten nicely browned in the pan.
Add in the mozzarella stuffed gnocchi and toss until they are well coated with sauce.
Serving the Mozzarella Stuffed Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Just pour out the mozzarella stuffed gnocchi with mushrooms and kale onto a plate!
So good! the mozzarella stuffed gnocchi is nice and chewy and the explosion of cheese makes it worth the effort. You can see some of the cheese starting to escape below. Once it is plated, it’s totally fine if this happens. Ideally you don’t want it to be happening in the boiling water or in the pan.
The mushrooms and kale add that earthy balance to the sweet potatoes in the mozzarella stuffed gnocchi, and the butter brings it all together.
Twists on Mozzarella Stuffed Sweet Potato Gnocchi
I know the first thing my readers are going to say – where’s the meat? Ground pork would be great with mozzarella stuffed gnocchi, just add it to the pan a few minutes before everything else, then start the instructions like normal. It would also taste good with slow roasted pork shoulder all shredded up in there. If you had some of that around, add it in to the pan 1 minutes before adding the cooked gnocchi just to warm up.
You could serve these mozzarella stuffed gnocchi with any sauce though really. I just like this simple mixture because it is great for this time of the year. This garlic butter sage sauce would be great!
Mozzarella Stuffed Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 1 egg
- 1.5 cups flour plus more
- 50 mozzarella pearls
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 5 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 2 cloves garlic sliced thin
- 3 stalks kale stems removed and chopped
Instructions
- Toss the sweet potatoes with some oil and salt. Place on a sheet pan and roast at 350 for about an hour until tender. Allow to cool and peel.
- Mash the sweet potatoes and stir in the egg. Add a pinch of salt. Add the flour and stir well, then start to knead when it becomes solid. Knead for about 5 minutes, adding flour as needed if it feels too wet or sticky, to form the dough.
- Take about a tablespoon worth of dough and flatten it in your palm. Place a mozzarella pearl in the center and wrap the dough around the cheese. Roll around between your palms to seal. Place on a floured surface.
- Bring water to a boil and season with salt
- Meanwhile, melt the butter on high heat and add the mushrooms. Cook about 5 minutes stirring often to brown the mushrooms. Stir in the kale and cook 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Turn heat to low and stir in the garlic.
- Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and cook about 3 -5 minutes, keeping a close eye on them. If you see any cheese leak out, strain them immediately!
- Strain the gnocchi and put them directly into the pot with the mushrooms and kale. Cook another 3 minutes. Serve!